There are numerous known coated chewing gum and bubble gum products. One of these products is the Chiclets brand chewing gum manufactured by Warner-Lambert Company. Traditionally, coated chewing gum and bubble gum products are produced by time-consuming and labor intensive batch-type manufacturing processes.
For batch-type processes, large rotating containers are utilized to coat the gum cores or pieces. Initially, the gum material is produced by a standard extrusion or batch processes and formed into large thin sheets of material several inches or a foot or more in width. Separation lines are pressed or formed into the sheets of gum forming the shapes of the smaller pieces (a/k/a “cores”) of gum, and then the sheets may be stored in a cooler or under a cooled atmosphere in order to condition them for further processing.
Pursuant to the current batch-type processes used to coat the gum cores, the sheets of gum material are dumped into rotating mixers where they are separated and broken up into separate cores by a tumbling process. Thereafter, a coating solution, such as a sugar syrup, is added to the mixer while the mixer is rotating. Hot air at a temperature of approximately 120° F. is used to dry the coated cores.
In order to form a uniform and consistent coated gum product with a coat of the desired thickness, this process is repeated numerous times until the requisite coating is completed. In order to make an acceptable coating, this process can be repeated up to 40–50 times with small, thin layers being added each time. This process can take up to 6–7 hours to complete and is labor-intensive.
In the same manner, it is also possible to add a final wax coating to create a shiny surface on the coated gum products. Once all of the coating layers are completed, the coated pieces of gum are transferred to another station or area where they are assembled and packaged in a conventional manner.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved coating process for chewing gum and bubble gum products. It is another object of the present invention to reduce the time and labor currently required to produce coated gum products.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process which continuously coats pieces or cores of gum material. It is a still further object of the present invention to produce coated chewing gum and bubble gum products which are produced in a faster, less expensive, and more efficient manner than current batch-type processes.
These and other objects and purposes of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention, when viewed in accordance with the attached drawings and appended claims.